Brentford v Chelsea Live Commentary & Result, 22/12/2021, League Cup

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Brentford return to Premier League action on Boxing Day on the road to Brighton and Hove Albion. Chelsea are in action on the same away with an away game against Aston Villa.

Chelsea secure their place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Brentford this evening. The Bees had a host of good opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalise on their openings. Thomas Tuchel's men took control of the contest after the restart, but had to wait until the 80th minute to break the deadlock. Pontus Jansson diverted Reece James' cross into his own net to hand Chelsea the lead. Alvaro Fernandez then brought down Christian Pulisic in the box and referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot. Jorginho booked the Blues' place in the last four, successfully dispatching his effort into the bottom-left corner.

90' + 3' FULL-TIME: BRENTFORD 0-2 CHELSEA

90' + 1' Alonso and Pulisic combine down the left flank, but the USA international cannot pick out the run of Kante with his cross into the middle.

90' There will be three minutes of added time.

89' WIDE! Pulisic cuts inside from the left flank before curling a right-footed strike towards goal that drifts just wide of the right post. The American has made an impact since arriving in the second half.

87' Forss latches on to a pass from Ghoddos from the left flank and takes a good first touch in the Chelsea box, but he stumbles before he can capitalise and it travels out for a goal-kick.

Jorginho

Penalty Goal

85' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! JORGINHO CONVERTS!!!! 2-0 CHELSEA!!! The Italy international takes his traditional stutter-step on his way to the ball before dispatching his right-footed strike into the bottom-left corner, sending Fernandez the wrong way. The Blues are surely heading into the last four of the EFL Cup.

84' PENALTY TO CHELSEA! Fernandez brings down Pulisic in the Brentford box as he attempts to smother a loose ball. The referee does not hesitate in pointing to the spot.

83' BLOCK! Pinnock and Sorensen put their bodies on the line at the back to charge down strikes from Alonso and Mount. Chelsea are looking to kill off the contest.

M. Forss

M. Jensen

81' Forss replaces Jensen as Frank introduces another attacker into the fold.

P. Jansson

Own Goal

80' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! JANSSON PUTS THE BALL INTO HIS OWN NET!!!!!! 1-0 CHELSEA!!!!!! The Blues take the lead courtesy of a mistake from the Brentford defender, steering a low cross from James into the top-right corner. Kante plays James into space down the right flank and he fires dangerous low cross into the box. Jansson has to act as he does not know who is behind him, but instead of clearing the ball he miscues his clearance past Fernandez. Chelsea have the lead with 10 minutes to play.

79' Mount makes a run behind the Brentford defence and Kante tries to float a ball over the top, but it proves to have too much power on it and Fernandez gathers.

78' Toney turns away from James and Azpilicueta down the left flank and fires a low cross into the box. Chalobah slices his clearance towards his own goal, but Kepa claims it out of the air amid pressure from Mbeumo.

Saúl

Yellow Card

77' Saul goes into the book for handball after losing control in the Brentford half.

76' Brentford win a free-kick down the right flank that Jensen whips into the box with pace. Sorensen attempts to attack it at the back post, but just cannot reach the ball on the slide.

N. Kanté

R. Barkley

76' Kante enters the game to replace Barkley in the Chelsea midfield.

F. Onyeka

S. Baptiste

74' Baptiste makes way from the Brentford midfield after a fine outing and is replaced by Onyeka.

S. Ghoddos

R. Henry

73' Ghoddos replaces Henry down the left flank for the home side.

71' Henry has time down the left flank to dig out a cross into the box, but he narrowly overhits his delivery for Canos at the back post.

69' SAVE AND WIDE! James curls the resulting free-kick towards the near post, forcing Fernandez to punch it away from goal. Barkley latches on to the rebound and carves out space for a left-footed strike that travels wide of the left post.

Sergi Canós

Yellow Card

68' Canos brings down Alonso on the charge down the left flank and goes into the book.

C. Nørgaard

V. Janelt

66' Norgaard replaces Janelt, who had been cautioned, in the Brentford midfield.

M. Mount

H. Vale

65' Vale is replaced by Mount after a solid outing on his first Chelsea start.

R. James

X. Simons

65' James enters the action for the Blues down the right flank to replace Simons.

I. Toney

Y. Wissa

65' Frank turns to Toney for inspiration as the forward replaces Wissa in the final third.

62' The game is in the balance at the moment. Brentford are repelling the Blues at the back, but are not offering a great deal pushing forward.

60' Azpilicueta does well under pressure to fend off Mbeumo in pursuit of a long ball over the top. He does enough to usher it back to Kepa to smother in the Chelsea box.

59' Jensen floats a cross into the box from the right flank, but Jansson fouls Simons in his attempt to attack the delivery.

58' Barkley brings down Mbeumo in the final third and hands Brentford a free-kick in a useful position.

57' Baptiste swings a cross into the penalty area from the left edge of the box. Kepa commits himself by racing off his line and he just gets enough on his punch to clear the danger.

55' CHANCE! Alonso has space down the left flank and he whips a dangerous cross into the middle that Barkley attempts to meet on the slide, but he can only send a tame effort at Fernandez.

54' Chelsea are enjoying a strong start to the second half and are exerting pressure on the Bees at the back.

53' SAVE! Fernandez has to dive at full stretch to prevent a Henry own goal. Saul whips a dangerous cross into the box from the left flank that deflects off the back of Sorensen and on to the leg of Henry. The ball travels at speed towards the bottom-right corner, but Fernandez gets there just in time to push it away from goal before Barkley sees a drive deflected into the hands of the Brentford keeper.

50' Chelsea are attempting to get their foot on the ball in the Brentford half to find their rhythm at the start of the second half.

48' Baptiste leads a great break out of the Brentford half, beating three challenges before offloading to Jensen. He takes over the attack once more on the edge of the box and offloads to Wissa, who clips a cross narrowly over the bar when aiming for Mbeumo.

46' We're back under way in this quarter-final clash.

C. Pulisic

J. Soonsup-Bell

46' Soonsup-Bell is withdrawn from the final third and is replaced by Pulisic.

Jorginho

M. Kovačić

46' Jorginho replaces Kovacic at the break for the Blues in the middle of the park.

Thomas Frank will be pleased with the opportunities that his side have created in the final third, but will be demanding better finishing in the second half. There's a huge chance for the Bees to advance to the last four given the lack of Chelsea experience on the field, especially up front.

It's goalless between Brentford and Chelsea in their EFL Cup quarter-final clash. The home side have had three good chances to take the lead, none more so than Yoane Wissa, who planted a free header straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga. Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry were also denied by the Chelsea keeper. Debutant Harvey Vale had the Blues' best chance of the half, but he directed his header at Alvaro Fernandez. Both sides have lacked a clinical edge in the opening 45 minutes.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: BRENTFORD 0-0 CHELSEA

H. Vale

Yellow Card

45' Vale scythes down Mbeumo on the counter and goes into the book. The forward took one for the team there.

45' Alonso is brought down by Canos on the left edge of the box, but Barkley fails to beat the wall with his cross into the middle.

43' VALE HAS TO SCORE! The debutant has a great opportunity to score on his first Chelsea start. Azpilicueta lifts a dangerous cross into the middle that finds Vale unmarked six yards from goal. He glances a header towards goal, but he fails to direct it away from Fernandez, who makes the save on the line.

42' Brentford have had three good opportunties to take the lead, but they've lacked a clinical edge in front of goal.

40' CHANCE! Henry latches on to a great ball over the top by Jensen and takes a good first touch to surge into the box. He fires low and hard towards the bottom-left corner, only to be denied by a fine reaction stop from Kepa, turning the ball past the post.

39' SAVE! Alonso weaves his way around three Brentford defenders before finding Kovacic. The midfielder rolls a pass to Simons to strike from 20 yards, but he drills his effort straight at Fernandez.

36' BLOCK! Kovacic rolls an offload into the path of Vale, who twists and turns to open up space for a strike, only to see it deflected wide of the target.

34' Baptiste releases Henry down the left with a precise offload. The wing-back delivers a dangerous low ball that Chalobah does well to divert away from Wissa on the stretch.

32' CHANCE! Mbeumo surges down the left flank and reaches the byline before clipping a cross back into the middle. Jensen meets it with a headed effort, but Kepa gets across to his left to palm it away from goal. Jensen just couldn't generate enough power on his attempt.

30' Vale works a pass back to Alonso in the Brentford box and he goes down under pressure from Jansson, but the referee is not interested in Chelsea's appeal for a penalty.

29' Saul bursts forward from the middle of the park and launches an ambitious strike at goal, which hits Jansson in the legs and is cleared with ease by the home side.

28' WIDE! Mbeumo latches on to a corner from Jensen in the left-inside channel, but he gets his volley all wrong and slices it well wide of the target.

27' Sorensen lauches a long-throw into the box from the right flank, forcing Alonso to rise above Pinnock to guide a header behind for a Brentford corner.

25' OVER! Fernandez flaps at a cross from Alonson from the left flank and Azpilicueta has the chance to shoot at goal from the edge of the box. However, the Spaniard can only slice his effort on the half-volley over the bar.

23' Soonsup-Bell feeds a low pass towards the run of Vale in the left-inside channel, but the forward loses his footing and allows Fernandez to gather.

21' Mbeumo closes down Chalobah at the back, but the ball deflects away from the forward and out for a goal-kick.

19' Barkley attacks another cross from the left flank as Alonso supplies a decent delivery. The midfielder rises to glance a header at goal, but Fernandez claims it with ease.

17' WIDE! Soonsup-Bell surges into the left-inside channel and cuts a cross back for Barkley at the back post. The midfielder takes a touch, only to scuff his left-footed strike wide of the left post.

16' Wissa and Janelt combine on the edge of the Chelsea box before Henry clips a cross to the back post. Canos looks to attack the delivery, but Alonso makes an important clearing header.

14' Pinnock angles a ball over the top of the Chelsea defence for Mbeumo to chase, but Kepa is quick off his line to clear the danger ahead of the forward.

V. Janelt

Yellow Card

12' Janelt clips the ankles of Kovacic on the charge in the centre circle and goes into the book.

12' SAVE! Wissa should put Brentford ahead. The forward latches on to a precise cross from Mbeumo from the left flank following a great break by Henry. Wissa is unmarked in the middle and only needs to place his header either side of Kepa to score, but he directs his attempt straight at the Chelsea keeper.

10' Mbeumo breaks on the counter for the home side and has Wissa in support in the middle. However, he places his cutback behind the forward and the Blues are able to bring the ball away safely.

9' Alonso plays a neat one-two with Vale in the final third, but once again he sees his delivery repelled this time by Janelt.

7' Alonso finds space down the left flank and delivers a first-time cross into the box, but Canos is well placed to direct the ball away from danger.

6' Azpilicueta makes a run forward down the right and feeds Simons to deliver a cross into the box, but his cutback is charged down by Henry.

3' Vale gets an early touch on the ball in the Brentford half, but he loses out under pressure to Janelt.

1' We're under way at Brentford Community Stadium.

Chelsea have won six of their last seven meetings with Brentford in all competitions (D1), already picking up a 1-0 victory at the Brentford Community Stadium this season.

Tuchel alters his team that played against Wolves last time out as only Chalobah, Azpilicueta and Alonso remain in the side. Tuchel hands Chelsea debuts to Vale, Simons and Soonsup-Bell due to the amount of COVID-19 cases that the Blues are suffering at the moment. The club are without Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kai Havertz this evening. Kante, Jorginho, Mount and Pulisic are available on the bench.

Brentford have made three changes to their side that defeated Watford on 10 December in their last match. Sorensen and Pinnock come into the back three alongside Jansson, allowing Janelt to move back into the midfield. Canos also returns at right wing-back as Mads Rasmussen misses out for the Bees. Toney returns to the bench after contracting COVID-19, but has to start from the bench behind Wissa and Mbeumo.

CHELSEA SUBS: Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Marcus Bettinelli, Mason Mount, Reece James, Charlie Webster, Lewis Hall.

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr; Xavier Simons, Mateo Kovacic, Saul Niguez, Marcos Alonso; Harvey Vale, Ross Barkley, Jude Soonsup-Bell.

BRENTFORD SUBS: Dominic Thompson, Christian Norgaard, Marcus Forss, Saman Ghoddos, Frank Onyeka, Ivan Toney, Myles Peart-Harris, Finley Stevens, Matthew Cox.

BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Alvaro Fernandez; Mads Bech Sorensen, Pontus Jansson, Ethan Pinnock; Sergi Canos, Mathias Jensen, Vitaly Janelt, Shandon Baptiste, Rico Henry; Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo.

Chelsea last reached the semi-finals in the 2018/19 season and Thomas Tuchel will be keen to progress to get his side back into peak form. The Blues have fallen away in the Premier League title race after dropping points against Wolves and Everton in back-to-back draws, which has knocked them off the pace of Manchester City. Tuchel's men have twice needed penalties to progress to the quarter-finals after beating Aston Villa and Southampton on spot-kicks. Chelsea will be keen to get te job done in 90 minutes this time around.

Brentford have the chance to reach the semi-finals for the second season on the bounce this evening. The Bees have defeated Forest Green Rovers, Oldham Athletic and Stoke City to progress to the last eight. However, Thomas Frank knows that his team will need to take their game to the next level to advance to the semis. Their form has been solid of late, losing only one of their last five matches in the Premier League, including an impressive 2-1 comeback win over Watford last time out.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the EFL Cup quarter-final clash between Brentford and Chelsea at Brentford Community Stadium.

Brentford v Chelsea Live Commentary, 22/12/2021

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